The Beauty within
by Mizz-Black
Summary: A retelling of the classic, Beauty and the Beast. James undergoes a transformation, which will change the course of his life forever. Written in response to mwppchallenges. COMPLETE


_This is a non-profitable story, all characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Ficlet written in response to MWPPchallenges. Enjoy! I may come back to it some day and add a few extras..._

The Beauty within

Once upon a time, there was a boy. The boy's name was James Potter and he lived in a far away place called Hogwarts, a school, with his three best friends, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

James was an arrogant, cocky boy, whose greatest pleasure belonged in bullying another boy who lived at Hogwarts, Severus Snape. Severus was an immensely shy, quiet boy, whose special gift was the art of potion making. He was pale and had dark, lank hair, dragged back into a pony tail. By the age of 15, Severus had a wide variety of potions at his disposal. He had no friends, only those who were interested in what such a clever boy could profit them.

One day, the seventeen year old James was sitting in the grounds with his friends. It was a beautiful summer's day. The lazy green grass tickled his face as he lay beneath a trickling weeping willow. The sunlight peeped through the gently waving branches, illuminating everything in a greenish glow. Sirius and Remus were playing with their wands, shooting sparks in an effigy of a duel. Peter was nervously watching the two, cheering for whoever seemed to be winning. In a haze, James heard footsteps approaching. Severus Snape was making his way over to the tree, clutching a potion in a glass phial.

"Potter?" asked the boy.

"What do you want, Snivellus?" asked a contemptuous Sirius.

"I believe I was talking to James, Black." He spat, icily.

"What is it, Severus? Make this quick, I've got some important lazing around to do."

Peter laughed timidly, but this was quelled with a look from Remus.

"We need to speak... alone."

"Very well. This had better be good, otherwise I'll hex you 'til All Hallow's Eve." James muttered.

Severus glided away from them, leading James to the greenhoues at the back of the school.

"I have a request, Potter."

James laughed boistrously. "Do you really think I'm going to do anything for _you_?"

"I expected that, but hear me out."

"Fine."

"I ask you to cease your, er, spiteful comments of me, in return for this." He held out the glass phial. The blue contents swirled about, staining the glass, and leaving trails of glistening periwinkle blue in its wake.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" asked James, sceptically.

"It... well... it looks pretty. It has more uses than you think! " Severus faltered.

James laughed once again, and knocked the phial from Severus' outstretched hand.

"What kind of a bargain is that, Snivellus? Get out of my sight!"

Severus began to walk away, slowly, his head bent and tendrils of hair escaping its bond. James looked at him, sneering.

James made his way back to his friends, muttering about greasy idiots. Suddenly, he was knocked down by what appeared to be a flash of red light.

"What the-"

He turned around and Severus was standing behind him, a wand pointing directly at James.

"You'll pay, Potter."

James could barely yell when he was sent tumbling once again and he froze. Like a puppet on a string he was hoisted up and dangled an inch over the ground. He screamed as his head lolled, and he saw his hands lengthening from beneath his black robes. His feet were also stretching, and to his horror, he saw that he was covered in black fur. He felt as though he had been thrown into a bath of boiling water, fire was rippling along his skin and dug into his chest.

Eventually he stopped and he tried to get up. His robes lay on him in shreds, as he had ripped them in is transformation. Snape no longer stood before James, but a beautiful woman with silver hair and pointed ears. Her robes were of the same blue as the phial that she had attempted to give to James, and they glittered as she walked towards him. Her sapphire eyes looked down on him as he gazed back, helplessly.

"James, you have earned this. It is now apparent to everybody who looks upon you what you are. It reflects the inner you."

"Why have you done this to me?" he yelled in a throaty voice.

"Your heart hasn't learnt to love. In all your 15 years, you have loved nobody. Not even your friends."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, tears trickling down his monstrous face.

"Listen. The only way to undo this spell lies in these words.

_When the blue moon wanes,_

_And a year has flown,_

_Banished shall be thy bane, _

_If thoust learnt to love._

_When the blue sky darkens, _

_Love knocks at door,_

_Love lightens, _

_It is undone._

_When the blue phial dims,_

_And a year has flown,_

_Your heart still black,_

_It's not undone._

As she said these words, the lady drew her cloak around her and seemed to fade, unitl only her bright eyes were left. James stared at the space where she had been standing.

"This isn't happening. It can't be. It's not happening." Tears rolled down his face and he heard a small "plink, plink." He looked down and saw the phial lying at his mostous feet, his tears bouncing off. He picked the small bottle up and examined it. The contents still swirled merrily.

"_When the blue phial dims..._" he whispered. James realised that when one year had gone by, and the blue of the twirling liquid had faded, only then could change back.

"But only if I have learnt to love..."

He let out a giant roar and ran back to his friends. Sirius, Remus and Peter all lay, as if asleep, beneath the tree. James shook Sirius vigorously.

"Wake up! Wake up you bastard! Don't leave me!" Sirius merlely slept on, oblivious to James' pleading. His head fell backwards and his dark hair fluttered in the breeze. He was breathing, though faintly, his chest barely rising.

"One year." The wind whispered.

Lily Evans rode through the gates to the Castle. The rain beat down upon her head as the pounding of the horse's hooves echoed in the courtyard. She dismounted, and dived into a large doorway. Hammering upon the large, oaken door, her horse standing in the rain, steaming, a window high above opened.

"There is no room for you here." The voice shouted.

"Please! I am lost! And I need a place to stay for the night!"

"Leave."

Distraught, Lily sank against the doorway, wrapping her cloak about her. An idea struck her...

_The castle seems large enough to house a thousand people. Surely they wouldn't notice if I...found a room? Just for one night, and I could be gone before they rise._

Tentatively, she tried the doorway, which, miraculously, opened. She stepped inside, her cloak dripping and clinging to her cold body. She took down her hood and peered around. She was amazed to see that everythng was coated in a thick layer of dust. There was a great, marble staircase in front of her, which she began to climb. It seemed to go on forever, and once, her foot seemed to _go through _one of the stairs. Putting this down to exhaustion, she ran up the marble steps, her feet echoing shallowly.

She tried many rooms, most of them empty, still caked in dust. Eventually, she opened a door and found three beds inside. Thankfully, she sat down on the edge of one, only to spring back up again. The room was dark, but a flash of lightening illuminated a face on the pillow of the bed she had sat upon. She covered her mouth, not daring to breathe, lest she wake the person.

Lily stood there for some time, and yet, the person did not move. Throughout the rolling of the thunder and the crash of the lightening, the person slept on. A horrible though occurred to Lily, what if the person wasn't sleeping? What if...

Any other person would have left the room in fright, but Lily had always been curious. Some even went so far as to call her fool- hardy. No matter what they called her, Lily walked over to the side of the bed. Her eyes had adjusted to the shrouding darkness, and her green eyes widened as she beheld the sight in front of her.

On the pillow, was a boy, about the same age as her. He had dark, shoulder length hair, spread around the pillow. The boy had a strong jaw and somewhat aquiline features. Even in... sleep? Death? He looked noble. She leaned forward to his face, and was astounded to find that he was breathing, albeit quickly.

She looked around the room, and to her horror, saw two more boys in the other beds. One had very fair hair and was rather chubby, the other was leaner, more... wolfish, with brown hair.

Still standing in awe, Lily didn't hear the door open slowly. The person made their way towards the girl with heavy footsteps. Startled, she turned around, to come face to face with a gigantic creature. Every inch of him was covered in thick, black fur. He was clothed in what appeared to be a red cloak, emblazoned with a badge, which she couldn't make out. He didn't appear muscly, but lithe and quick.

She stifled a scream as he grasped her by the arm, a great frown bedecking his features.

"You will come with me." Lily didn't dare to argue as the beast hauled her away from the room. She looked back to see lightening streak across the room once more, landing on the dark haired boy's face.

He led her deep into the bowels of the castle, through portraits and tapestries, unitl they reached a green chamber, four beds inside it. There were trunks at the bottom of the beds and small windows at the top of the room.

"You will stay here. I shall fetch you in the morning and lead you to your horse.Then you shall leave."

With that, the creature left, leaving Lily alone, frightened, and extremely wet. She stayed in the room that night, awakening the next morning, not very refreshed. She waited in the room, shivering. At last, she heard its heavy footsteps once again on the stone floor.

"I have decided that you will stay here. You shall be moved to more comfortable accomodation. Follow me."

Dumbstruck, Lily rose to her feet. "How _dare_ you? You can't do this!"

"I assure you, I can. This is, in effect my castle, therefore, my piece of land, and my rules."

"What rules have I broken?"

"You expressly went against my wishes. I told you to leave, and you persisted. You went into a room which I permit nobody to enter..."

"How was I to know that?" she cut him off angrily.

He snarled and turned around, "YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN HERE!"

"Well, I'm here now, so you're going to have to behave politely."

"I take it you want an introduction the, if I am to be polite?" he said, somewhat grudgingly.

She merely looked at him.

"You will address me as... Prongs. This is my castle, you shall adhere to my rules. You will not enter that room again. Do you understand?"

"I understand. You may call me Lily."

Several months went by, in which Prongs and Lily spent in each others company. After their unorthadox start, the pair's relationship became warmer. They ate together, and were usually to be found in each others company. At first, Lily had only stayed with him because her ordered her to do so. After a time, however, she was as keen to learn about him, as he was as curious about her.

In all of her time at the castle, Lily never saw another human. Prongs had told her that the castle used to be a school, animated with the sound of laughter ringing through the hallways and people came and went as they pleased. One day, they had all disappeared, apart from three boys who he found by the lake. She learned that they were his best friends. However, Prongs never told Lily the conditions of his enslavement, or that he had once been a human, just like his friends. Of course, Lily figured this out for herself.

One day, she wished to take a walk in the grounds. She threw on a cloak and made her way down into the wilderness. The lawn was overgrown with weeds, and the trees looked forlorn and listless. The great lake looked like a gaping hole in the midst of a jungle. Lily wandered over to the lake, and sat beneath a tree there. Little did she know, that this was the same tree that Prongs and his friends had sat under, all those months ago.

Prongs watched her progress from an upstarirs window, and turned away with a sigh. The image of her gliding through the tangled wilderness, her red hair blowing in the breeze would be imprinted in his memory forever. He had decided that now was the time. If he failed, she could leave. He needed this, not just for himself, but for his friends. He had come to realise how much he loved them, at the time when they weren't there.

The creature picked up a glass phial, an almost clear liquid present in it. There was only the faintest trace of blue about it.

"_When the blue phial dims."_

Prongs followed the path which Lily had woven through the grasses. He found her dozing beneath the tree. Painful memories flooded back... what if Lily fell into an enchanted sleep? What if he could never wake her up again?

Abruptly he shook her awake.

"Wha- what is it?" she asked groggily, her green eyes hooded slightly.

"Lily, I need you to do something for me. Take this." He thrust the phial into her hand and stood up.

"Why do I need this?" she asked bemusedly.

"Trust me." He growled.

Lily looked down at the glass and examined the patterns etched onto its surface. Suddenly, the glass grew hot, but Lily could not let go. The liquid within burned a bright blue, almost blinding her. A deafening roar reched her ears and she looked up, frightened.

"What have I done?" she whispered.

Prongs was on all fours, writhing around and roaring so loud that the lake seemed to be disturbed by it. He twisted to and fro and a pale lady with sapphire eyes was standing behind him. She raised her hands and Prongs rose with them. His face contorted, and the snout seemed to shrink... he grew smaller and the black fur which had smothered his features receded, leaving a boy of 17 or 18 lying on the grass, panting.

"It worked, James. You are free." Came a voice. The lady had vanished, seemingly into thin air.

Lily ran over to the boy. He was covered in tattered robes and he looked pale.

"Prongs?" he looked up and touched her face.

"Yes, it's me. My name is James."

James sat up quickly, looking over Lily's shoulder. The grounds around the castle were changing. The grass became shorter, flowers blossomed and the trees seemed to stand up, proud and tall. Three boys were staggering through it all, looking around them in awe. Lily recognized them as the boys in the room...

The dark haired boy galloped over. "You've got some explaining to do, mate!"


End file.
